The door crashed inward, splinters flying. The first of the dead lunged through the opening, eyes clouded, mouth stretched wide in a silent snarl.
Kade didn't wait. His knife was in his hand, already slashing across the creature's face. The blade bit deep, cutting through rotted flesh and bone. The walker crumpled at his feet.
Another pushed past it, arms outstretched. Ayla swung the metal rod she had grabbed back at the market, the force of it snapping the walker's neck to the side with a crack. It fell but more kept coming.
The stranger moved too, smooth and deadly. A long curved blade appeared in his hand as if it had been waiting for this moment. He sliced through the nearest walker with terrifying ease, the blade glinting in the faint light.
"Keep them back," he snapped.
Ayla didn't need to be told. Her shoulder burned where the bite throbbed under her shirt, but she pushed the pain aside. Her body moved on instinct, every strike fueled by anger, by fear, by the system's hunger inside her.
Kade grunted as he kicked another walker away, knife flashing again. The girl tried to press herself into the corner, tears streaming down her face.
"Move her!" Ayla shouted at Kade.
He grabbed the girl's arm and hauled her behind a broken table as more of the dead stumbled through the door.
"We need to block the entrance," Kade said.
The stranger was already ahead of him, dragging a fallen shelf across the doorway. Together they shoved it into place, but the dead slammed against it, hands clawing through the gaps, teeth snapping inches from their faces.
The building shook under the weight of their assault.
"This won't hold," the stranger said. His voice was calm but his eyes were sharp, calculating.
Ayla's breathing was ragged. Blood dripped down her arm now, soaking the edge of her sleeve. The room felt too small, the air thick with rot and panic.
"There has to be another way out," Kade said, eyes darting around.
"There is," the stranger replied. "But it's not free."
Ayla's gaze locked with his.
"What do you want?"
The stranger grinned, dark and reckless.
"Your trust. For now."
Before she could answer, the shelf blocking the door began to splinter. Fingers reached through, clutching at empty air.
"Decide fast," he said.
Ayla nodded once.
"Fine. Show us."
The stranger didn't waste another second. He crossed the room, kicked aside a piece of loose flooring, and pulled up a trapdoor hidden beneath. A narrow stairway disappeared into darkness below.
"This way," he said, already descending.
Ayla followed, the pain in her shoulder making her stumble on the first step. Kade came after her, the girl clinging to his side.
The dead crashed through the remains of the barrier as they disappeared into the shadows.
The stairwell smelled of mold and earth. It twisted down farther than Ayla expected, deeper into the building's foundation.
They reached a small chamber lit by a single flickering bulb strung from the ceiling. The walls dripped with moisture.
The stranger slammed the trapdoor shut above them. The sound of the dead pounding against it started almost at once.
"We're trapped," Kade said, voice tight.
"No," the stranger said. "There's another exit. Through there."
He pointed to a steel door set into the far wall.
Ayla moved toward it but the stranger caught her arm.
"Wait."
His eyes dropped to her shoulder.
"You're losing blood. You won't make it far like that."
Kade stepped between them again.
"She said she's fine."
"She's not," the stranger said. "And if you want her to live, you'll let me help."
Ayla's vision blurred for a second. She tasted blood on her tongue.
"What's your idea?" she asked, voice low.
The stranger held up the blade, the edge still slick with gore.
"We cut it out. The infected flesh. Before it spreads."
Kade grabbed his arm, fury in his eyes.
"Touch her and I swear—"
The stranger didn't flinch.
"Do you want her dead? Because that's what's coming if we waste time arguing."
The pounding overhead grew louder. Dust rained down from the trapdoor.
Ayla swayed on her feet.
"Kade," she said quietly. "Let him."
Kade's jaw clenched. His grip tightened on the knife in his hand.
But he stepped back.
The stranger took Ayla's arm gently, surprisingly so. His blade hovered over her torn flesh.
"This is going to hurt."
Ayla met his eyes.
"I know."
The blade bit into her skin.
And the building above them shook as something much heavier than a walker crashed against the trapdoor.